A top Netflix executive has addressed backlash to the streaming giant following the Jake Paul/Mike Tyson fight.
Following the incredible build to Friday night's fight, approximately 72,000 people poured into the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, to watch "Iron" Mike Tyson return to the ring in what was his first professional fight in 19 years.
However, at 58 years old, Tyson struggled to keep up with his opponent - 27-year-old YouTube star Jake Paul - and after eight two-minute rounds, it was clear that the fight had failed to live up to the hype.
Many viewers took to X to brand the fight "boring", pointing out that Tyson was just too slow to keep up with an opponent 31 years younger than him.
Speaking of slow...
If you tuned in for the big event, you'd know that Friday's fights were streamed live on Netflix, at no extra charge to subscribers. An incredible deal, one would assume.
But with so many people tuning in to watch the historic night unfold, many viewers were hit with streaming issues, and many were left staring at a buffering circle going round and round.
This led to an angry backlash on social media, with some Netflix users even vowing to cancel their subscriptions. "Cancelling my subscription to Netflix because you all dropped the ball," one person tweeted.
Another X user wrote: "Months of waiting for this disappointment, can't even watch the fight. Constant 25% buffering. Canceling my subscription indefinitely."
Nevertheless, it appears that the streaming giant is focusing on the positives, as Netflix CTO Elizabeth Stone hailed the night a "huge success"
In a letter to employees, shared by Bloomberg, Stone wrote: "This unprecedented scale created many technical challenges, which the launch team tackled brilliantly by prioritizing stability of the stream for the majority of viewers.
"I’m sure many of you have seen the chatter in the press and on social media about the quality issues."
Stone continued: “We don’t want to dismiss the poor experience of some members, and know we have room for improvement, but still consider this event a huge success.”
The exec's comments come after Netflix released the incredible viewing figures for Friday night - revealing that a whopping 60 million households tuned in to watch Tyson's return to the ring.
Netflix wrote on X that "the boxing mega-event dominated social media, shattered records, and even had our buffering systems on the ropes", in a tweet shared on Saturday (November 16).
The streaming giant then announced that a whopping "60 million households around the world tuned in live to watch Paul vs. Tyson".
Netflix added that 50 million tuned in to watch the co-main event fight between Amanda Serrano and defending champion Katie Taylor, which the platform states means the match is "likely to be the most watched professional women's sporting event in U.S. history".
It comes after the New York Post reported that there were 88,000 streaming issues logged on Down Detector on Friday night.
Full card and results from Friday night:
Jake Paul def. Mike Tyson via unanimous decision (80-72, 79-73, 79-73)
Katie Taylor (c) def. Amanda Serrano via unanimous decision (95-94, 95-94, 95-94)
Mario Barrios (c) vs. Abel Ramos ends in a split draw (114-112, 110-116, 113-113)
Neeraj Goyat def. Whindersson Nunes via unanimous decision (59-55, 60-54, 60-54)
Shadasia Green def. Melinda Watpool via split decision (97-93, 94-96, 96-94)
Lucas Bahdi def. Armando Casamonica via majority decision (95-95, 96-93, 98-92)
Bruce "Shu Shu" Carrington Jr. def. Dana Coolwell via unanimous decision (80-70, 80-70, 80-70)
